HELP!Taking the next step to stay in bed

[Snowman78]

I was hoping you guys could give me some advice. This is the hardest decision we have dealt with so far as far as him admitting that the time is now. I understand him not wanting to be restricted to the bed and have not wanted him to be, but we have reached a time that it is not safe for him or any of us to be doing transfers from the bed to potty to recliner and so on and so forth. The hospice nurse has spoke to him about which I am thankful for because it takes any possible resentment off of us. He still says yes it is getting close to the time that I will have to. I know being able to get up and sit in the chairis one of his last things that he can do and don't want to take that from him but at the same time I don't want to see any of us hurt. PLEASE give some feedback on opinions or experiences.

 

[GregK]

Check Diane H's website www dot alsfrombothsides dot org.

Go to both the Toilet Troubles and Lifts sections.

 

[Nikki J]

A lift is not an option? I am sorry you are having to think about this but safety ( his and yours) is first but with a lift it should be possible to do at least some transfers so he is not in bed 24/7

 

[dalvin]

Snowman, get the va to get you a hoyer lift. With the slings, you can safely transfer hi without risking hurting either yourself or him. While waiting, call the ALSA to see if they have a loner you can use till yours comes in

 

[Snowman78]

We have a Hoyer lift at the house now but I have never used it and am not sure how to do it but I will get help. The problems we have with that is his breathing is so bad the slightest moving around just wears him out and the other issue is he has had to discs removed and the vertebrea fused together and a rod wired in and can't move certain ways. I am still getting him up but mom and my sister can't handle him. He went down over the weekend while I was gone. They were trying together to transfer him and didn't make it from the chair to the bed. Luckily a friend of mine lives across the street and hecame over and got him up. He seemed completely out of it this morning but I know a good bit of that was from meds making him groggy. I will get with the nurse for some training on the ol mannual hoyer.

 

[Barbie]

hoyer lifts are very easy--your mom could do it alone if needed. I hate to think of someone bedbound if they don't need to be

 

[Barbie]

When my husband was at the hospital the PT came and taught me how. took about 10 minutes to learn.

I bet Youtube would have some good videos also. you could practice first on your mom and let her practice on you...should give your dad a laugh and won't be so scary to everyone involved

 

[Snowman78]

Thanks ya'll! I don't want him to be bed bound but I don't want any of getting hurt. I will give the lift a try for sure. Hopefully it will roll ok on the carpet.

 

[Grumpy'sWife]

Snowman, I use the lift provided by the VA to move Grumpy from his bed to bedside commode and to his wc. It pushes ok on the carpet but mine is very low carpet. When putting him on the toilet I leave him hooked up because he prefers it. He tells me when to stop, it helps keep him upright and makes him more comfortable to go because he leans to his right. It has locks on the wheels to keep it stable. One thing I learned about doing it by myself was to go slowly just for my own piece of mind. When putting him in the power chair, I have it leaned slightly back so he isn't trying to sit up as I lower the lift he is in a reclined position.
The VA here sent an OT to the house to go over the lift with us. Barbie is right about practice, I used my daughter just to get over my own fears.
Good luck! Kaye

 

[JimInVA]

We've been using a lift for transfers for quite some time now. Darcey has no use of her legs... and we use the hoyer lift and hygiene sling for ALL transfers (except for top and bottom of stairs... the stair lift requires a bear hug). With our favored sling (I posted about it in the Tips section), I can get her in the sling in less than 2 minutes and get her pants down for commode transfers in another 5-10 seconds. I can't even imagine not using this. Trips to the commode are simple, quick and easy. It is NEVER a problem... for either of us. And even more of a positive... it feels so safe and secure that she doesn't mind when others pitch in to help (something she NEVER allowed when she had to stand during transfers). I don't know if the combination we have is the very best... but it is the very best that we're aware of. And for how often we do transfers, day in and day out, it was one of the best "out of pocket" purchases we've made (we still have to insurance paid hoyer upstairs... but don't use either of the two slings they provided). Please, PLEASE... reach out to me if you want more information...

Jim

 

[affected]

The lifts are really easy to use snowman!

You only need a little careful training, and as suggested try it on your mum, then her try it on you. I tested being lifted in it when the OT trained me so that I would know what it feels like from the PALS side.

I put a video on here recently:
https://www.alsforums.com/forum/current-caregivers-cals/26625-electric-hoist-transfer-video.html

The last tip has also been said - always do it all slowly. Don't rush, and you will have him comfortable and you can position him so well. You can even just lift him from the bed and put a bed pan under him.